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SALT LAKE CITY -- The offseason acquisition of George Hill was a clear upgrade at the point guard position for the Utah Jazz, but few expected this type of production from the nine-year veteran.Hill scored 25 points and the Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks 97-81 on Wednesday night.Hill continued to power the Jazz offensively after coming to the team in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks last summer. He has scored 18-plus points in all five games, the only Jazz player to do so.Some of the things that hes doing, you were hopeful that he would do, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. But youre equally pleased that hes doing them. Hes made big shots at crucial times. What Ive seen is his willingness to (say), `Where do you need me? Do you need me to score? Do you need me to get a stop? Do you want me to lead?The leadership component, to me, is probably the most unique. Thats something our team is responding to.The Mavericks trailed the entire game except for a 16-15 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. After shooting just 37.0 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz hit 49.2 percent the rest of the way. They were 12 for 25 from 3-point range.Im just happy were winning, I dont care about the numbers, Hill said. Just doing what it takes to try to win a game. Im glad my teammates have confidence in me to control the tempo out there and try to make plays.Rodney Hood scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Jazz as teammate Rudy Gobert had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 14 points, but they shot just 26.9 percent behind the arc.Its been a tough start for us, Mavs center Andrew Bogut said. No one is going to give us anything easy, so we got to dig ourselves out of this hole.We werent in the game, really from the start. Whatever it was, we were kind of chasing our tails from the start. Our bench did a great job of getting us back in the game. Made a run. We just couldnt sustain it.TIP-INSMavericks: Dirk Nowitzki started after missing the last two games with an illness. He scored nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. ... Point guard Deron Williams, who was drafted by the Jazz No. 3 overall in 2005, was still booed five years after being traded away.Jazz: Derrick Favors matched a season-high with 23 minutes as he works his way back from a knee injury. ... Dante Exum matched a season-high 10 points off the bench.STICKING AROUNDGobert signed a lucrative multi-year extension Tuesday to keep from entering restricted free agency after the season. The 7-foot-1, 245-pound center averaged career-highs in points (9.1), rebounds (11.0) and blocks (2.2) last season and has developed into one of the top defenders in the league. Gobert said the extension puts both he and the team on the same page and reinforces their belief in him. He knows he has to produce, but said there isnt any extra pressure. As a human, it wasnt really impacting my game, but in my mind you think about it a little bit, Gobert said. Now that its done Im focused on basketball and the team.MORE OFFENSEThe Mavericks entered the game ranked No. 15 in the league averaging 103.7 points per game. Coach Rick Carlisle is looking for more on that end of the court, but didnt get it Wednesday. We want to move the ball, Carlisle said. We want to get it in the paint as much as possible. Weve had some tough luck with shot-making, but that will come.UP NEXTMavericks: Host the Portland Trail Blazers and star point guard Damian Lillard on Friday.Jazz: Host the Spurs on Friday after upsetting Kawhi Leonard and company in San Antonio on Tuesday. Mike Ditka Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Tom Waddle Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-mike-singletary-bears-jersey/ . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Roquan Smith Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Tarik Cohen Womens Jersey . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. One of the last refuges of institutional homophobia takes a giant step into the 21st century on Saturday night with the inaugural AFL Pride Game.St Kildas AFL clash with Sydney will feature rainbow-coloured footballs, 50m arcs and umpire flags in an attempt to win over sexually diverse fans.Its a brave new world for the AFL - given the closest its come to a rainbow-themed game would be when early-era Fremantle in their purple, green and red guernseys hosted the brown and gold-clad Hawthorn.Studies show theres work to be done.The largest research piece into homophobia in sport, the Out on the Fields report released in 2015, paints a frightening picture for lesbian, gay and bisexual sport participants and fans.More than half of respondents believe adult sport is not safe for sexually diverse people and eight in every 10 respondents have seen or felt homophobia in sport.Its why St Kilda chief executive Matt Finnis wants the Pride Game to be embraced, and not just tolerated, by the industry.Tolerance suggests an acceptance, and perhaps a reluctant one.Pride means to celebrate.When you apply the pride label, youre saying its a celebration, he told AAP.Thats important because pride is the opposite of shame.No one should ever feel ashamed to come to the footy and hold their partners hand, or feel uncomfortable because of homophobic language.AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the league was proud to partner in such an important initiative with the two clubs.People are born how theyre born, thats just a fact, and tthere are some in the community who still might not accept that, he said.ddddddddddddf we can play a role with St Kilda and Sydney in calling out that fact and that everyone should be able to be who they want to be.If we can do that through a football game and have the conversation then lets have it.The Pride Game is an adaptation of the grassroots Pride Cup championed by Yarra Glen football club and player Jason Ball.Finnis says AFL players have driven the translation to AFL level.To our younger supporters and players, with an average age in the young 20s, sexual diversity is far more normalised than the generations that have gone before them, he said.From Brock McLean and Dan Jackson being the first players to march at Pride with Jason Ball several years ago now ... to Sam Gilbert fronting this Pride Game this weekend.It would be fair to say players have been at the forefront.Given hundreds of thousands of fans - either at Etihad Stadium or watching on the free-to-air broadcast - will see an AFL match in technicolour like never before, Finnis is expecting some backlash.Its difficult to say what everyones reactions will be, he said.We just hope what we can do through this game is to open peoples eyes to the importance of everyone being welcome.The Pride Game follows in the footsteps of previous social inclusion campaigns, which has championed indigenous players and women in football. 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